This brief affair is a generous gesture from nature compared to the snow-filled last stand the Northeast U.S. endured in 1997.

After a relatively mild winter, a powerful Nor’easter slammed the U.S. from Maryland to Maine on March 30 and April 1 of that year, leaving two feet of snow in some spots in addition to downed trees and power lines.

View full sizeMichael S. Gordon / The Republican03.31.1997 | SPRINGFIELD - City police officers cross the intersection of Spring and Pearl streets during the 1997 storm.

In Pennsylvania, an accident involving eight tractor trailers and two cars closed Interstate 84, according to an Associated Press report. 1,000 people were forced to spend a cold evening in their vehicles while another 4,000 stranded motorists spent the evening in shelters, many of whom were rescued by people with snowmobiles.